Retrospective study to determine the diagnostic value of the Widal test in a non-endemic country

The purpose of this study was to determine the usefulness of the Widal test in the diagnosis of typhoid fever. Data were obtained by retrospective analysis of 311 Widal requests covering a six-year period. Nine cases of typhoid infection were diagnosed culturally. Of these, only three patients had samples for serological examination, all giving indicative titres. Of the 274 evaluated sera, 26 showed significant agglutinating titres; 23 of them were false positive. These results show that routine use of the Widal test is of limited value and should only be used for patients in whom repeated cultures remain negative.